The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, has criticised President John Dramani Mahama following the emergence of viral images showing two gay men desecrating Ghana’s national monuments.
The photos, which surfaced on social media on Wednesday, June 25, show the couple, reportedly South African nationals, posing affectionately at iconic national sites.
These include the Black Star Square and the Independence Arch, where the couple were seen holding the Ghana flag.
In a social media post shared on Thursday, June 26, the Assin South MP blamed the President, the Minister for Tourism, and National Security officials for what he described as a national embarrassment.
“Under Mahama & NDC, foreign gay couple boldly desecrate our national monuments: kiss under Independence Square flaunting Ghana flag. They’re emboldened to defy the dignity and sanctity of our rich Ghanaian values right before our eyes,” he wrote.
He continued: “The President, Minister for Tourism, Diaspora Affairs Directorate at Jubilee House, National Security cannot be absolved from this disgraceful act of impunity.”
Rev Ntim Fordjour claimed that such acts are being tolerated because of the current government’s posture on LGBTQ+ matters and insisted that the private member’s anti-gay bill would put an end to such acts of “desecration.”
Meanwhile, the Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has blamed former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for what he says is growing disrespect toward Ghana by the gay community.
According to him, Mr Akufo-Addo’s refusal to assent to the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ Family Values Bill has emboldened same-sex couples to disregard Ghana’s cultural symbols without fear.